Joseph Kennedy III, son of former US House Rep Joseph Kennedy II, is running for Massachusetts 4th Congressional District, or more commonly known as House Representative. Kennedy is a Democrat from Boston Massachusetts.
Kennedy is the former District Attorney of Middlesex county and former District Attorney of Nantucket, Dukes, and Barnstable. He graduated from Harvard Law School where he was on the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau which served some of Massachusetts most impoverished neighborhoods. In addition to the legal aid bureau, Kennedy served as editor on the Harvard Human Rights Journal. Along with his fiance, he founded a program for poor kids in Boston.
Following in the footsteps of his ancestor, President John F. Kennedy (we all know who that is), Joe Kennedy joined the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. He transformed the tour guide business there and established a community fund that reinvested profits into education, and recreation investments back into the Dominican community.
Joe Kennedy’s platform include similar work to that he did in the Peace Corps. Kennedy believes everyone should be treated equally by their government, and his main priority includes creating a better economy, and more jobs.
Kennedy wants to provide the sources small businesses (the main employers of Massachusetts citizens) need in order to create jobs. He also wants to reduce anything discouraging growth in the economy. Kennedy believes in order to improve the economy, Massachusetts needs to support the industries that lie at the basis of our community. These include the life sciences, health care, financial services and education. By supporting these industries, Kennedy believes it will encourage growth, and create jobs. Kennedy points out energy reform as well in his campaign to create jobs.
Another important issue Kennedy believes he could do something about once he was office is that of the budget; Kennedy wants to create cuts, as well as target new revenue to reduce debt. Kennedy asks not only the middle class, but also the wealthiest in the district to contribute their fair share. The budget issue also brings up the issue of health care. Kennedy supports the Affordable Care Act, which eliminates discrimination, and hopefully makes health care affordable and accessible to everyone.
Also on his platform is the topic of education. Kennedy wants to provide a good education to children in Massachusetts in order to ensure economic growth in the future. Kennedy believes that every child should have access to a good education in order to “continue our great history of innovation and high-skilled work” or we will “continue to fall behind where we once led”.
Among these topics on his platform, Kennedy also stands by women’s rights, social justice and foreign policy and security.
According to the Boston Herald, Kennedy surges past Republican Sean Bielat, also running for US House Representative, 60% to 28% in the UMass Lowell/Boston Herald polls. In 2010, Barney Frank (Democrat) had won over Republican Sean Bielat, so prior history of the district shows to be in favor of Kennedy.